Alice B. McGinty’s book, “Gandhi: A March to the Sea,” tells in free verse the story of the 1930 trek from Ahmedabad to Dandi. The march’s purpose: To defy the British law that forbade Indians from harvesting salt from their coastal towns and requiring them to buy highly-taxed British salt instead. The salt tax, along with property and other taxes, kept Indians poor and subservient to their British overlords. You’d have thought the British would’ve figured out, after the Boston Tea Party 150 years earlier, that this sort of thing ultimately would backfire on them.

The march was part of Gandhi’s ongoing efforts to free India from British rule. That Gandhi, son of a senior government official and a London-trained barrister, was leading a nonviolent civil disobedience movement was particularly galling to the British. Winston Churchill was among those who found Gandhi infuriating.

With Thomas Gonzalez‘s luminous illustrations, “Gandhi” is a gorgeous book, and one that inspires readers to find out more about the small, determined man whose determination helped make India a free nation.

McGinty touches briefly on some of the obstacles that Gandhi confronted, especially his disregard for the caste system that Indians observed rigorously. His embrace of the Untouchables horrified even his admirers. It was not easy for Hindus and Muslims to work together under Gandhi’s vision of “communalism,” politics based on religious beliefs.

With India in the news, unfortunately, for widely-publicized gang rape crimes and its police officers’ callow response to rape victims, “Gandhi” is a reminder that there are Indians who fiercely believe in justice for all, including women.

“Gandhi: A March to the Sea” by Alice B. McGinty, illustrated by Thomas Gonzales (Amazon Children’s Books); $17.99